In a Most Auspicious Manner
by TheSilverArgents
Summary: In which Davey proposes to Clara. A follow up to Poor Guy's Head is Spinning.


_A/N: So many people have been asking for the proposal that followed Poor Guy's Head is Spinning, so here it is. Review and send in prompts!_

Clara was honestly lost as to why Davey looked so nervous tonight. He kept squeezing her hand, and taking deep breaths, and patting his breast pocket in a jittery manner as if to make sure something was still there. "Are you alright?" she finally asked as the hostess sat them down at their table in the restaurant.

"Hmm?" He asked looking up at her, a hint of panic in his eyes.

"You look…jittery? Is everything okay at school?" Clara asked beginning to worry, knowing he was halfway done with his final year at law school and understanding how stressed he might be. She squeezed his hand reassuringly and he shook his head, some of the tension leaving him.

"No, school's fine. I'm okay, I promise." He shrugged and brought their laced hands to his lips and kissed her hand. He sighed and pressed his forehead against their hands, "Just…"

"Just…" she trailed off waiting for him to finish the sentence.

But he jumped in with a subject change, "Are you okay?"

Clara rolled her eyes, but let him shine the light on her, "I'm fine, I just miss home a bit, you know how I get sometimes."

"How about after dinner, we go pick up whatever we need to make that iced tea for tomorrow?" Davey suggested running a finger along the back of her hand.

Clara gasped, "Really? But, d'you think any stores are open at this time?"

"We'll find one eventually." Davey shrugged and patted his breast pocket again.

Clara was about to call him out on it, but the waitress showed up to their table and asked, "Mister and Missus Jacobs, correct?"

Clara nodded, "Yes, ma'am." before pressing her lips together tightly, at the same time Davey sighed, "Maybe." before slapping his hand over his mouth.

The waitress raised an eyebrow at their responses, but held out a bottle of wine to them, "The couple two tables over sends this bottle of wine with their regards and luck." She recited the line as if she had rehearsed it in her head. Davey looked over at the table the waitress had indicated and he could see Jack's newsboy cap from his spot.

Davey could kill him.

Clara thanked the waitress and mentioned something about thanking the couple after dinner as she poured the wine into two glasses and then left the bottle in ice. Clara turned the bottle over to see the label and her eyes widened, "Oh, Davey it's the wine from that first day at Katherine and Jack's apartment, when we had dinner!"

Davey could kiss him.

He took a sip of the wine and it somehow gave him the strength to clear his throat and say, "Clara Émilie Wyman."

She turned to him wrinkling her nose at the use of her full name, some of her blonde hair falling over her eyes and suddenly he lost all of that courage. "That's how you, uh, say your name right? The French part?" His voice was strangely high pitched.

Clara nodded and took a sip of wine contemplatively. "Honey, are you sure your alright?" Her blue eyes seemed to scream worry, but he knew she was just trying harder to focus on something that wasn't the bout of homesickness that seemed to hit her every once in a while. She tucked the hair that had fallen over her face behind her ear easily and began to focus on the menu.

That's when he decided.

Seeing her there, the light making her hair look even blonder and brighter he decided to pull his hand from hers slowly and move off his chair as if he made to tie his shoe. When she noticed what he was doing she shook her head without looking up from the menu, "David, honestly, do you know how many people have walked there?"

"Okay, give me a second I'm trying to do something." Davey said pulling the ring box out of his breast pocket and holding it in his left hand. With his right hand he interlocked his fingers with hers again and he cleared his throat, "Clara Émilie Wyman."

She gave a half-laugh and turned to him,"Why do you keep doing tha-" Clara didn't finish her sentence, rather, she couldn't finish her sentence seeing as she was trying to process that her beau was currently one one knee and looking just as nervous as she was beginning to feel. "You-you're- wha-" She spluttered out and he smiled uneasily.

"Hold on, I've got a big speech…that I don't remember at all. Damn, it was really great too." Davey muttered shaking his head and Clara laughed nervously.

"Guess, I'm just gonna have to make it up as I go along." He murmured and took a huge breath, "I honestly never thought I'd be happy to have such meddlesome friends, but you know, they led me to you, so I couldn't be more thankful to them for that. And everyday that I've spent with you for the past two years has been amazing and stunning and unbelievable." He saw moisture at the brim of her eyes and he willed himself not to cry either, "I just, I wanna go on walks with you everyday, for the rest of my life. Forever, I don't care if we have to walk to St. Louis right now, but I want it to be you and me." He took a deep breath, "Will you marry me?"

Clara took a big shaky breath and began to cry, "Can I have a minute?" she managed to choke out.

Davey's eyes widened and his heart plummeted, "You have to think about it?"

Clara let out a laugh and shook her head, trying to get her crying under control. After a few seconds, Clara wiped at her eyes and nodded, "You honestly believe I have to think about saying yes."

Davey let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, "That's a yes?"

"Yes, of course, that's a yes!" She half-shouted, realizing that most of the people in the restaurant were watching them now. She lowered her voice and bit her lip, "We're getting married."She laughed softly and Davey moved closer to kiss her. Their audience clapped for the (Jack and Katherine's table were the loudest) and Clara pulled away, blushing slightly.

He pulled the ring out and warned, "It isn't all that, bu-"

Clara gave him the look he'd seen her aim at the women who would make snide remarks about him, her endeavors in medicine, or Katherine; it was a simpering, pouty lip that turned up ever so slightly at the corners with eyes that could light you in fire and seemed to make the person pity themselves for even saying anything. "Bless your heart for thinkin' I care, sugar, but you know any kind of jewelry is alright with me."

He nodded and smiled at the way that making that face made her accent return in full-force. He slid the platinum band over her ring finger on her left hand and kissed her knuckles. They sat there in silence for a moment just enjoying each other's company, Davey still kneeling on the floor and Clara leaning off the edge of her chair.

Suddenly, Davey straightened and looked at her, "We have to tell my parents."

Clara sighed contentedly, "We'll stop by the apartment after dinner then, I think if we hold it off they'll kill you."

Davey nodded and said, "Alright, we'll do that."

They were silent again and Davey slowly made his way up off the floor and into his chair, never once letting go of Clara's hand. The moment he sat down another revelation seemed to hit him, this one more daunting than the last, "We have to tell your mother."

Clara gave an un-ladylike snort but he could see that she was starting to worry a bit now as well, "Mama probably already knows, she can sniff weddings out like a bloodhound."

Davey smiled and squeezed her hand,"We'll do it together."


End file.
